‘Test tube puppies’ offer hope for endangered species

If you think having a child using artificial fertilization is hard, try having a puppy. Human Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) ELISA KitDogs’ reproductive systems are so quirky that researchers have been trying—without success—since the 1970s. Human fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) ELISA KitBut now, scientists have used a new set of techniques to give rise to the world's first “test tube puppies,” a litter of beagles and beagle mixes that can trace their start to eggs and sperm in a petri dish. Anti-ALOX15B/15 Lipoxygenase 2To bring the new litter into the world, researchers collected mature eggs from the canine equivalent of the fallopian tubes, a trickier prospect than collecting them from ovaries (as is done in humans).Rat Glypican-3 (GPC-3) ELISA KitOnce they had the eggs, the team experimented with different conditions for fertilization and incubation, finally coaxing seven embryos to grow in a surrogate mother hound, they reported yesterday in PLOS ONE. rabbit Insulin,INS ELISA KitThe pups, now 5 months old and thriving with their adoptive human families, could offer hope for endangered species like red wolves and African wild dogs, the researchers write. Human Vitamin A (VA) ELISA KitDog in vitro fertilization could also be used to study heritable traits and diseases, many of which are shared by both dogs and humans. www.glorybios.com